(June 4, 2020) In light of last week’s horrific killing of George Floyd and the continued endangerment of people of color, the Ohio Osteopathic Association (OOA) expresses its support for peaceful protests for racial justice. In the strongest possible terms, the OOA advocates for equality in all its forms.
In 2017, the OOA passed policy to encourage osteopathic medical institutions to “engage in expert facilitated, evidence-based dialogue in cultural competency and the physician’s role in eliminating racial health care disparities in medical treatment as part of a longitudinal curriculum throughout undergraduate medical education.” The impetus of this policy was recognition that health care outcomes of minorities were lower even when patients’ socioeconomic differences were controlled. This same policy was approved by the American Osteopathic Association later that year. The OOA remains more committed than ever to these enduring values to address racial disparities in medical treatment.
Comprehensive wellness—in body, mind, and spirit—can only be fully achieved if personal safety is guaranteed for all people. Entirely too often this safety is not ensured. Discriminatory surveillance and policing are often exacerbated by excessive force. This must stop. Every single person deserves respect, equality, and justice. As a country, we are falling short. To that end, the OOA strongly encourages all legal expressions and efforts to extinguish racism and discrimination in any form.